Bound'ry Owners' Other Watering Hole Caused Midtown Residents to Complain about Amplification in 1994

On Sunday, September 25, 1994, South Street (which is also owned by Jay Pennington and Jimmy Lewis) held a six-hour charitable street concert, which raised local ire to go along with donations because of the amplified music and the lack of crowd control. In a letter to Metro's Charitable Solicitations Board, residents of the Disciples Divinity House (20th and Adelicia) complained that the noise was unrelenting until 11:00 PM and that there were children living in the house who had to go to school the next day. Additionally, they pointed out that their access in and out of their residence was blocked, hundreds of people "overran" the DDH property, and several South Street workers were caught illegally dumping trash in the House dumpster.

In an October 31, 1994 letter to DDH, Solicitations Board Chair Marilyn Swing wrote that her office would remind the groups organizing the event that it was "their duty to comply with all local laws which would apply to any type of event held in Nashville -- including trespassing, noise levels and parking regulations." She also encouraged DDH to let her know whenever such fundraisers were scheduled in the future so that she could alert Metro Police. But given what we know about the lack of action by police officers to deal with noise complaints in Midtown over the years, how could the prospect of alerting police be of any comfort?

In a separate letter to DDH, the beneficiary of South Street's excuse to get buzzed and obnoxious charity event, Dreammakers, Inc., offered residents its "sincere apologies" for the disturbance. Dreammakers asserted that it was "unaware" that the South Street party might create problems for Midtown residents, but it assured them that if they are selected to be beneficiaries of South Street productions in the future, they would bear their "responsibility to be considerate" of the neighborhood.

Obviously, the Bound'ry's ownership team was just as willing to extend their "concept" into the street and on to adjoining properties as they were to have it blaring on their premises. Could it be that Midtown has been forced to accept whatever the Bound'ry owners impose upon it? (That's not a rhetorical question).